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Old 09-19-2010, 10:29 AM   #1
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Converter again

I thought I was past the converter problems but yesterday while cleaning the interior my lights would dim while on shore power when the converter fan would start up. I was hooked to a 20 amp circuit using an adapter. I had been running the ac for awhile to cool down the trailer then turning it off to run the vacuum cleaner. I noticed the lights dimming while the ac and the vacuum were off. The converter fan coincided with the dimming but when the fan stopped, the lights stayed dim and would go bright several minutes later. Does this make any sense?
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Old 09-19-2010, 03:36 PM   #2
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Check your batteries for plenty of water AND check the connections
to be sure you don't have a corroded battery cable.

If that does not help open up your converter and tighten every connection especially the battery leads coming into the converter.

After that UNPLUG and tighten the 120 V connection where the
trailer power cord comes into the breaker box and the breaker
connection that feeds the converter.

It's a "treasure hunt". Hope you find it!
Good luck!!
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Old 09-19-2010, 04:13 PM   #3
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check the voltage on the battery.
when shore power is on, the power to ur trailer is supplied from the converter. if the battery voltage is ok, you may have a bad relay inside the converter (i've had that happen on an '84) or a bad converter. the relay was found at a a/c supply house (called a contactor in a/c terms). if battery voltage is ok and the contactor is bad, this would be burnt contacts on the contactor. the contactor simply switches u to battery when the shore power is lost. the battery is charged from a seperate circuit.
the contactor not being pulled down, will result in the battery staying in circuit (instead of the convertor). which would drain the battery.

when on shore power, power supplied from converter not battery.
when disconnected from shore power, battery supplying power not converter.
with that in mind, use any combination to trouble shoot.

disconnect from shore power and see if lights get bright. if they do...convertor problem.
if they don't, charge the battery and see if lights get bright. if they do...converter problem (and circuit within converter not charging battery).
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Old 09-19-2010, 05:54 PM   #4
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Thanks, I'll check it tomorrow.
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Old 09-19-2010, 07:09 PM   #5
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Grounded if you battery is over a yr old. I would check on lines of bad battery or connection . I was call out to a rv park that had a 5th that his light dimmed & then lost all 12v plug in or not. His battery had shorted & loaded down his converter which shut down. Change out battery everything was fine. In most cases the converter are on line at the same time with battery. For your high loads like running your slide out in or out this help keep the load off of the converter.
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Old 09-19-2010, 09:34 PM   #6
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The battery is new.
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Old 09-19-2010, 09:56 PM   #7
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A new battery does not mean a good battery. Check it again, and one more thing, check not only the battery, but make sure it is wired correctly. Another post on here was having similar problems and the battery was hooked up in reverse. Don't forget to check the battery.
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Old 09-20-2010, 10:00 AM   #8
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When check reverse cables. which is good thing to check, but they may have been reverse before, some converter have fuse protection , set of four 20-30 amp? this maybe bad 2 or all. if you can you may want to disconnect 12v @ the converter and see if you got 13-14 on converter. if no voltage or low, check your 120v line in. if ok , converter maybe problem. if converter dc 13-14 volt ok. check back to battery wiring connection & so on, may want to change out battery, just say I told you so?
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Old 09-27-2010, 11:05 AM   #9
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The converter was bad. I replaced it and everything now works like it should.
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Old 09-28-2010, 09:05 PM   #10
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Good you found the problem. Happy Camping
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